There is something about the soundtrack to The Natural that brings out the boy in me who used to dream about playing for the Dodgers.
Those of you who are familiar with the film won’t be surprised because you’ll say it is natural for a boy who loved playing baseball to love a movie about a fictional legendary player.
But if you probe deeper and ask more questions I’ll tell you about how the music unlocks parts and pieces of my imagination that aren’t limited to dreams of sitting in the dugout in Dodger Stadium.
You’ll gain more insight than the simple dream I used to have of hearing Vin Scully call out my name and the plays I made.
Of course this is all based upon your taking time to do more than ask the standard questions we ask each other knowing we don’t really what the answer is.
Very few of you know sometimes I think about driving to the closest airport or port because I feel the need to just get away.
Because I get this itchy feeling that makes me wonder how much I haven’t seen in the world and a desire to go find who or what is singing the siren song I hear.
The dream and or vision I see varies depending on whether it is ship or plane I think of using as a my impromptu steed.
But it is always filled with the same sense of wonder and adventure.
There is always this question in my mind about what happens if I just let go of all that holds me back.
A sense that if I just unhook that part there will be no limits and confidence in my ability to turn trouble into adventure and experience.
All you have to do is look beneath the surface and you’ll see…something.
Sometimes the boys and I talk about the dreams we had and those we still retain.
You may think I am crazy but I still believe I can hit major league pitching or that I can hold my own against NFL players.
The idea/dream isn’t lodged in my saying that I could have been the greatest or that now I could be among the best.
It is tied solely into my question of can I do it…once.
That is all I need and I don’t care if I get to prove it to anyone besides me because some dreams belong solely to us.
Look Beneath The Surface
I have had that conversation with some of the boys and talked about the importance of chasing down that pied piper and or looking for pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Talked about strange it feels to be one of the old cranky people who wonders if people know how to talk without their phones.
Rattled on a bit about how intolerant we seem to have become of other beliefs and pushed my children not to focus on the other as being bad simply because it/they is the other.
Danced in imaginary circles because some of the stuff I have been working on has finally come to fruition.
Won’t be long before I get to see if certain hopes and dreams stay locked in a box or if they move from possibility to opportunity.
Made a point to remind myself to do my best to follow my own advice and do more to look under the surface when I speak with others.
One More Swing
The soundtrack has moved to Knock The Cover Off The Ball and now I almost can’t help but see myself standing at the plate asking to take one more swing.
It is so easy to picture that fastball coming at me at speeds I have never encountered and to wonder if maybe I am biting off more than chew.
Yet the music motivates and moves me and I think if I can take one more swing I’ll get a piece of that it.
That is all I need, one more chance, one more opportunity and that will be enough.
Because experience will help insure I don’t miss again and it will allow me to compensate for anything I might have lost due to time.
For now and perhaps forever it may be a theory that remains unproven or maybe not.
Time will tell, but in the moments that come before I’ll smile knowing I have found a way to make things happen again and there is value in that
